Ordnance.



W, D. SMITH.

ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1911.

1,055,819, Patented Mar. 11,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET L WITNESSES [NV h E TOR W. D. SMITH.

ORDNANGE;

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1911.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Qumxm T ance with my invention, in which:

with my improvement attached. Fig. 2 is av illustrating my improved valge and mechanisni for opening and closing the same.

- inent'in Ordnance, of which the following is "opened.

view ofthe valve shown in Fig. '4, and 'Fig.

- WILLIAM D. SMITH, orwasnmo'ron. ms'rmc'r or COLUMBIA.

' emanation.

Specification of-Iietters Patentj Application flle'd' itay'ia, 101i. sem No. 628,072.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, W LLIAM D..S 1yn'rn, a citizen of the'United. States, and a resident of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful; Improvea full, clear, and exact description, [re ence being had to the accompanying drawforming partof this specification.

materia into'the bore of the gun with the flushing fluid to coat the surface of the bore to rotect it from the actionof the hot gases, an also soas to term a drylubricant which will not be atfected 'by the heat of the gun, and. thereby further rotect the bore from the cutting action 0 the projectile when forced through .the bore-bygthe explosion.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cheap and simple devicefor placing the powdered graphite in the fluid pressure pipe, or the port leading from the fluidpres: sure supply to the bore of the gun.

i A sti 1 further object of my invent-ion is to provide a cheap and simple valve, together with valve actuating mechanism whichwill be actuated by the recoil of the gun. Also in roviding'means for latching thevalve in its open position, together with means for eleasing said latch when the breech block' is In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one-form of apparatus in accord- V Figure 1 illustrates a rear viewof a gun partial sectionalview of Fig. 1 showing the interior of the breech of the gun. Fig. 3 1s a detail side elevation partially in section Fig. 4 is a plan view of the valve and its actuating connections. Fig. 5 .is a sectional 6 is a side elevation'ofthe valve showing a modified form of the operating lever. .The precise nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which will now be described, it being premised,,.howcver, that various changes may be made in the details of construction and general arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims. i "i In the drawings, the numeral 2 designates thebreech of the gun, and 3 the breech block which is secured tot-he breech of the gun by means of the usual screw threaded engagement.

4 is the breech blbck carrrier which is conings, A 'nected to the pivot pin 5 mount d i k his invention relatesto ordnance and IS" tions '6 extending from the breech of the gun.

71s the usual unlocking lever which is arranged'to actuate the carrier and translate the breech-.blockfihatihe breech block has been released from'th'e breech of the gun.

8 is the mushroom head having a spindle 9 extending through the-breech block, and

which is arranged to be moved longitudinally through the breech block in any desired manner for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

Interposed between the mushroom headand the breech block is a gas check 10 of the usual type, which is arranged to becom pressed by means ofthe explosion to seal the opening between the breech block and the breech of the gun.

' 11 is thebreech block carrier sleeve about which the breech block 3' is adapted to rotate, during its locking and unlocking movement with the breech of the gun. Within the car rier sleeve 11 is a pressure chamber 12 and connected to the stem of the mushroom head is a piston 13 which is arranged to move the mushroom head inwardly when pressure is supplied to said chamber.

14 is a spring interposed between the piston 13 and a stationary portion of the carrier sleeve, and is adapted to return the mushroom head to its rearward position when pressure has been out off from the .chamber 12.

- 15 are ducts in the stem of the mushroom head having outlet ports 16 to permit the fluid pressure to pass from the ducts to the bore of the gun, and also having ports 17 adapted to admit fluid from the pressure chamber 12 to said ducts.when the mushroom'head has been advanced. A

18 is a supply pipe, one end of which is connected to the chamber 12. .t l1c other end being connected to one side of a valve casing 19 which is also connected to the pivot pin 5 and is arranged to move with the breech block carrier. 20 is apressure supply pipe connected to the other end of the valve ca,s ing 19 and which extends from any suitable source of pressure supply. Leading into the pressure supply 20 is a pipe 21' extending from any suitable source of oil or other liquid supply, and which is controlled by means of the hand operated valve 22 and check valve 23. The check valve 23 is arranged to prevent fluid pressure from being blown back through the pipe 21.

Rot-atably mounted in the valve casing 19 is a valve 24, having a through port 25 which is adapted to open communication between the pipgs l8 and 20 wheti the valve is rotated 90 from the position shown in the drawings. Mounted on the upper portion of the valve casin 19 is a hopper 26 having an opening 27 w ich is arranged to communicate with the port 25 when the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 5, and 29 is a valve for closing communication between the opening 27 and the hopper 26.

The hopper 26 is arranged to receive powdered graphite or other material in powdered form which is adaptable for coating the bore of the gun to protect the surface thereof from heat-mid-wvhen the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the powdered material will fill the port 25 and when the extends outwardly through the casing 19,

and connected to this valve stem is a lever 31 which is arranged to be held in a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3, when the gunis in position to be 'fired. Mounted on any stationary portion of the gun, and in line of movem t of the lever 31 is a spring actuated plung r 32, which is adapted to' be struck by the lever and its spring compressed .to cushion said lever and also to return the lever to its vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3. Slidably mounted. in a bracket 33 on any portion of the gun and adjacent to the lever 31 is a spring pressed latch member 34, which is arranged to engage a catch 35 on the lever 31 and hold the lever in its downward position when .thrown, as hereinafter described. to retain the valve 24 so that communication is open between the pipes 18 and 20. Pivotally mounted in brackets 36 on the side of-the gun is a. rock shaft 37, and connected to the lower end of this rock shaft is a lever 38, which is in line of movement of a pin 39 on the end of the unlockin lever 7. Connected to the upper end of this rock shaft 37 is a lever 40, and 41 is a link connected to the lever 40and the spring pressed latch'34.

The operation of the device is as follows:

I Assuming the parts to'be in the position shown in the drawings in which the pipe 20 is' in connection with a suitable source of pressure supply and that the port 25 of the valve 24 has been filled with powdered graphite, the firing of the charge will cause the un to recoil and the valve lever 31 will be t rown downwardly as shown indotted lines in Fig. 3. The recoil 'movement will throw the leveridownward to the left as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 compressing the spring plunger 32 and rotating the valve 90 to open communication between pipes 18 and 20, and as soon as the projection 35 passes thelatch member 34, the lever 31 will be held from return movement. This opening of communication between pipes 18 and 20'. will admit pressure to the chamber 12 which will advance the mushroom head a suflicient distance to open communication'between the ports 17 and the 'of the residue left after the explosion and the gun will be coated with the graphite to 4 protect the surface of the interior of the gun. The unlocking lever is now actuated to remove the breech block, and the first movement of this lever will actuate the rock shaft 37 and through the medium of the levcr connections withdraw the spring latch 34 and 1 release the lever 31, the spring pressed plunger 32 will then throw the lever to the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, closing communication between the pipes 18 and 20 and permitting the port 25 to be filled with graphite from the hopper 2G, for the next operation. It will also be understood that since pressure is cutoff from the pressure chamber 12, the spring 14- will return the mushroom head to its initial position. If desired the valve 22 may be opened to supply any, other lubricant .or liquid to the pipe 20 which will be injected into the gun when the gun is flushed as hereinbefore described.

' In F ig.'6 I have shown a valve similar to that shown'in Fig. 3, but in which I have shown a modified form of o crating lever. In this figure the operating ever is in the form of a bell crank, the arm 31 being the same as the lever 31 and the arm 31 extending at right angles thereto, is adapted to throw the valve in the opposite direction to closethe valve when the gun returns to batt'ery. In this arrangement it is not necessary to provide a springpressed plunger to return the valve-to its closed position, as the arm 31" will be moved to the right by its inertiaduring the recoil of the gun, and the arm 31" will be moved to the left during the inertia of said arm when the gun returns to battery.

The advantages of my invention result from the provision of means for supplying powdered graphite to the fluid pressure supply so that the graphite will be blown into the gun when the pressure supply is turned on to flush the gun, to coat the bore of the gun and protect it from the gases caused by the combustion of the powder, and thereby lessen or prevent abrasion or pitting of the surface of the bore. A further advantage results from the provision of means for terial into the supply pipe, and means for opening the valve to admit fluid pressure feeding non-coml'uistible dry powdered ma-" rial into the bore of the gun; substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for injecting powdered graphite into the bore of a gun to prevent erosion by the hot gases from the explosion of the powder charge, comprising a fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the gun, a valve in said pipe, automatically controlled means for placing powdered graphite within the pipe and automatically controlled mechanism for opening the valve to admit fluid pressure to said pipe to blow the graphite into the gun; substantially as described. J 3. A device for coating the interior of a gun with powdered graphite to prevent erosion. comprising a fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the gun, a valve in said pipe, an automatically controlled mechanism for delivering the powdered graphite to the supply pipe and simultaneously opening said valve to admit fluid pressure to said pipe to blow the graphite into the gun; substantially as described.

4. A device for coating the interior of "guns to prevent erosion, a fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the gun, a valve in said pipe, means for feeding a predetermined amount of powdered graphite into said pipe, and means for opening the valve to admit fluid pressure to said pipe to blow the graphite into the gun; substantially as described.

' 5. In a flushing device for guns, a fluid pressure supply pipe, a valve casing in said pipe, a valve in said casing having a through port arranged to open communication 'bustible dry powdered mater'ia through said pipe, and means to feed graphite to said port when the valve is closed; substantially as described.

6. In a flushing device for guns, a fluid pressure supply, a valve controlling said pressure supply, and a lever connected to said valve, said lever being arranged to be thrown by its inertia during the recoil movement of the gun to open the valve, and means to lock the valve in its open position; substantially as described.

7. In a flushing device for guns, a fluid pressure supply pipe, a valve in saidpipe, a lever connected to said valve, said lever being arranged to be thrown by inertia during the movement of the gun to open the Valve, a spring pressed plunger adapted to be moved by said lever, and a latch adapt-ed to I retain the lever in its thrown position; substantially as described.

8. InLa flushing device for guns, having a breech block, a carrier for said breech block, an unlocking-lever for opening the breech block, a fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the breech 0* the gun for flushing the gun, a valve in said pipe for controlling the fluid pressure, a lever connected to the valve, the lever being arranged to be thrown by its inertia during the recoil movement ofthe gun, a spring pressed plunger arranged to be moved by the lever, a catch arranged to retain the lever in its shifted position," and a connection between the catch and the 1111- 1 locking lever arranged to actuate the catch 7 to release the lever when the unlgicking lever is shifted; substantially as des ribed.

9. A device for coating the interior of guns to prevent erosion, comprising afluid pressure supply pipe leading to the gun, a valve in said pipe for controlling the fluid pressure supply, means for feedi non-comsupply pipe, and means for opening the valve to admit fluid pressure to said pi e.

and to cut off the feed of the non-combust'ib 6 dry powder; substantially as described.

10. A device for coating the interior 'of guns to prevent erosion, comprising a fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the gun, a a

a graphite container connected to said pipe, means for feeding a predetermined amount of graphite from the container to said pipe, and automatic mechvalve in said pipe,

anism for opening the valve to admit'fluid pressure to said pipe and to blow the dry powdered graphite into the bore of the gun; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. 7

WILLIAM D. SMITH Witnesses:

' (3110. W. WHITE,

J. WEBSTER MANNING.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. 0." 

